Safety In The Garden

General Garden Safety

One of the simplest accidents in the garden is to tread on the upturned teeth or tines of a rake so that the handle hits you on the head or the teeth themselves can cause injury. Don’t leave garden tools, hoses, watering cans or other solid objects lying about for people to trip over.

Make sure steps and paths are solid and stable with a non-skid surface.

When using a ladder make sure the ladder’s feet will not move before you start climbing – flat pieces of wood under the feet should do the trick.

Sharp tools, such as rakes, forks, hoes, spades, secateurs and shears, should be stored so that children cannot reach them and so that they do not fall over or off shelves and injure people.

Any cuts received from garden tools should always be washed in warm water and a disinfectant solution.

Be careful when using a rotary mower. Before mowing remove any stones or pebbles from the lawn as these may be caught in the blades and injure you or someone else. Wear solid boots or gumboots, and always push the mower forward and don’t pull it backwards.

Safe Use of chemicals:

Store garden chemicals and fertilisers out of reach of children and pets.

Read, understand and follow the label.

Take special note of the rate of application and the safety directions.

Never use kitchen utensils to measure pesticides.

Make sure the chemical is registered to control the pest you are using it for.

Do not spray under adverse weather conditions, eg. windy days or days when temperatures are above 30 deg C.

Only mix enough for the one job so that you do not have to dispose of the excess.

Do not store unused ‘made up’ sprays. Made up chemical can deteriorate from microbes and UV light.

It is illegal to decant and store chemicals from their original containers into containers which are not specifically designed for this purpose.

Store your chemicals in a secure, dry, cool shed or cupboard dedicated to that purpose.